PRESIDENT LETTER

I have been remiss in keeping this space updated, but I do have several items of news that I am very excited to share with our visitors.

2006-07 Program of Work.

We have published our first annual (biannual actually) report and disseminated it to over 500 of our friends in the government, business, and nonprofit sectors. Norma Hanson and Associates did a very fine job with the production of the report. We are very proud of it, but we are more proud of the stories that are told in the report. These are stories of the wonderful things our community partners have been able to accomplish with funding from Wiregrass Foundation. To view the report, please click here.

Dr. Thomas Harrison Joins the Wiregrass Foundation Staff.

Dr. Thomas Harrison has joined the foundation staff as Education Program Director. Along with Dr. Harrison's new responsibilities with Wiregrass Foundation, he will continue to serve as the ENVISION Coordinator. We are excited about Dr. Harrison joining our team and believe that his direct involvement will mutually benefit the purposes and plans of Wiregrass Foundation and ENVISION.

Dr. Harrison's vast experience in the education arena includes serving public schools and colleges in Alabama and Georgia for over 40 years. Those experiences are built upon 11 years at Columbus State University as Dean of the College of Education and Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs, and 10 years as the President of Troy State University Dothan. Earlier in his career he also held positions as a high school and university teacher, an assistant principal, a high school principal, and a two year college dean.

Changes to Grant Guidelines.

Changes to the grant application guidelines are forthcoming, and the updated application form should be available very soon. Please note that the application will be changing in two respects. First, the application process will no longer take place in the two steps. Rather, the foundation will accept complete grant applications (with proposal and budget) four times per year. Second, the foundation no longer limits grant requests to particular focus areas. Instead, the Board of Directors has adopted a new strategic intent, which is embodied in the vision and objectives set forth in the guidelines. We hope to receive more and better proposals as a result of these changes and look forward to hearing innovative approaches to achieve the foundation's important objectives.

Thank you for your interest in Wiregrass Foundation.  Please check back for details about these and other announcements.

Sincerely,
Vince Edge